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The Big B
02/24/08
The Big B
Today marks the third consecutive work day in a row where I have been called a term that refers to a female dog by a third separate patient. All three times by patients who didn't belong on my floor, who weren't sick enough to be on my floor, who were bored enough and healthy enough that they had time and energy to have the aides order them three different lunch trays because each one wasn't good enough for them. All three thought they were saying it when I had left the room (but hadn't), and all three were patients who kept asking me to "sign their discharge papers" and didn't listen when I told them that they were there because they were being worked up and monitored for serious things such as metastatic lung cancer, GI bleeds, and diabetic ketoacidosis with blood sugars in the seven hundreds. Each time I got accused of pretending to be busy, and all three told me that I didn't understand, that they were starving from not eating in prep for their tests, though I didn't mention that, by the end of my shift at 4PM, I still hadn't eaten any breakfast, lunch, or dinner, either.
All in all, I have to say that I have a renewed respect for the people that work in the ER and on med surg who have these people all the time. My little diabetic patient was knocking on death's door last night when she came in, but by this morning, after all the work done to get her semi-stable, she was trying to sign herself out against medical advice because she didn't like the chicken soup just do she could come back another day and do it all over again. I'd rather have some patient who is crashing and hovering between kicking the bucket and surviving and be busy with that than being busy trying to keep people from walking off with IVs still hanging off their arms and having people yell at me because I am not able to get a hold of the doctor doing their colonoscopy. Give me a break. I don't get paid enough for this baloney.
I'm tired of being nice this week. I'm tired of being called a bitch. I have tomorrow off and then I'm back for another four days starting Tuesday. I am looking forward to March, with some spring weather and good company and good times.
11 comments
you could always work with babies. or mutes. do they have department for that? mute unit? 
Ah, but working with the wee babes, she would have to deal with worried parents. That could be much worse than working with the older crabby patients! 
Heh. I actually have to say that when I get to talk to nice people, i would prefer talking patients. I've always thought ICU is where it's at, but the only deterrent for me is that most of the patients are sedated there. I guess that's almost like a mute unit.And babies are cool. The moms... not so much. Obstetrics was not for me at all..
Don't feel too bad. On some days at work, that is easily the nicest name that I get called... 
Mom calls me that all the time. It's usually preceded with the word lazy, though. 
Sounds like you've been having the kind of days that Dad has been having at night.He hasn't mentioned any patients calling him names. Almost every night has been terrible.Hopefully after tonight we won't have to go back in until Saturday. He needs the break from Flu,drug addicts, Fibromialga,etc. It was so busy one night that they did the entire work up on a an appendix patient in the waiting room! They took him up to surgery from the waiting room.Patients are being held in the ER too because the floor won't take them. Aren't you glad you have a husband who is used to RN Dad who used to rant about his night every day. Annie says her alarm clock every morning is her dad sharing about all his patients. You should ask her about the post op C section patient. 
sometimes i wonder how much a nurse can take in a week. c sections really aren't fun....let me tell you about.....waaaa! and another thing.....blah blah blah.......(that might have been me he was talking about)
This post op C-section happened to be what you read about in all the pregnancy books about what might happen. She was hemorrhaging,spiking a fever,draining from incision etc..... I"ve had 3 c sections myself and after hearing all this lady was experiencing,mine seemed like a piece of cake.The Elder Mark had another BUSY NIGHT in the ER. He was putting all the low risk patients in a hallway and having Doc's see them there. It's now respectively called "Mark's World" 
Yeah,I just LOVE hearing about buckets full of blood coming out of people when I wake up in the morning...it's,to say the least,awakening,LOL. It's alright though,he's been a nurse,for about forever,so I'm pretty much used to the crazy ER stories,blood,guts and all. 
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